Sydney's first birthday!

What a day to celebrate! We're so thankful for our little Sydney! We spent the day at one of our favorite local water parks. I think Sydney had a great first birthday!

Big sister happy to help out with the candle!

I think the gift bag filler was more fun than the actual present!

If you're happy and you know it

I couldn't choose just one video! Lots of singing and clapping at this house - whatever makes the girls smile like this!

Big Girl Time

This is McKinzie's second haircut. This time she had the whole treatment - wash, cut and style. She did really well! I had a blast because we had a big girls' out on the town afternoon! We went shopping and picked out a fun dress for Kinz and then stopped at her favorite ice cream place. It felt so well deserved since McKinzie has been so patient with all the changes that happend this year! I'm so proud of the young girl she is becoming!

DIY - project princess

McKinzie loves helping out with a project. She was very excited to get to work on our new shower with daddy!

Family Reunion

We had a wonderful time at family reunion this summer!
Sydney was dealing with separation anxiety, but grandma and grandpa won her over by the end of the trip. Andy and I were even able to go on a date!

I'm not sure who had the most fun - the cousins or grandma!

It was so fun to see the girls spending time with their cousins! Kaylynn was so sweet with McKinzie and Sydney.

We soaked up the outdoor activities! This was Sydney's favorite!

The cousins loved getting in the pool and hot tub!

Can you believe grandma organized cinnamon roll baking for all the grand kids? They had a blast! Each child had their own batch of yummy cinnamon rolls!

We had a picnic dinner at this picturesque lake! McKinzie loved the boat rides.

Auntie Shawntae teaching McKinzie how to fish like a pro!

Everyone standing still for a moment!

Surprise first birthday party!

Sydney's first flying experience

We had a wonderful first experience flying as a family of four. We had a few reasons to be nervous - it was only 3 weeks after Andy's ankle surgery! Fortunately, we were able to use the airport wheelchair service and this allowed us to make it to each gate on time. The girls did so well - they were incredibly patient. I think Sydney loved having all of us close together for so long!

First time

This is the first time I put Sydney in a restaurant highchair! We came prepared!

Highchair craziness

I'm not sure why I thought this time around I would have more of a handle on mealtime mayhem. Sydney lasts about five seconds in her highchair ...

4th of July

This year we had a fun family backyard bbq! McKinzie was more than thrilled to watch the fireworks with her best friend! These two have been best little buddies since they were toddlers.

The kids loved sack racing - expecially since we had been playing in the sprinkler and the yard was wet and muddy!!

Our resident artist

While Sydney naps I try to keep up with the crafts and activities that McKinzie loves to do! This was an extra special project!

Where's the baby?

Sydney can pretty much get anywhere she would like to now! I love her determination!

Just Precious

I love when they do this.

What a summer!

It's time to catch up on our blog posts again! This summer was quite eventful! Right after the 4th of July, Andy tore his achilis tendon. He was quite the trooper and has recovered amazingly fast! Three weeks after Andy's surgery we traveled to the west coast for a family reunion. Fortunately, the airport wheelchair service helped us navigate through the airport without missing any flights! We've also had some unexpected DIY projects for our house ... needless to say, it's been a little crazy around here. But now the weather is changing into a more pleasant autumn temperature for us and we've been able to get out of the house and play outside! It was a crazy but fun and memorable summer and finally here are the stories!